Overtime
by singingzombies
Summary: Sam, Freddie, and Carly are now sophomores in college. Carly is far away at an Ivy League School; Freddie is studying film at the University of Seattle; Sam has been kicked from her home and currently has now place to go, cept Freddie's Apartment. CHP3 UP
1. Prologue: Moving On

**Overtime**

**Summary: **Sam, Freddie, and Carly are now sophomores in college. Carly is far away at an Ivy League School; Freddie is studying film at the University of Seattle; Sam has been kicked from her home and currently has now place to go... cept Freddie's Apartment. Even after 12 years of friendship, Freddie and Sam discover that perhaps they know each too well and not at all. SEDDIE

**A/N: **I LIVE!!!!! No seriously, I am back from my 6 mouth hiatus (*cough crap internship *cough) While I am sure the 5 pple who read this sentence will probably have never heard of me. I have to say, it's good to be back. After catching up to iCarly's current airings, I have had a sudden urge to write a down-to-earth maturish rendering of Sam and Freddie. (Two common comments I see in my old reviews is my enthusiasm for fantasy and sci-fi elements and forced rapid maturing of the show's interpretation of the characters) BTW I have no idea what's going to happen to my previous unfinished stories as I have to go back and try to remember where I was going for each one.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own iCarly, if I did, I'd jump the shark and add too many Seddie moments

**Prologue**

_Senior Year:_

"Hey! Dorkface!" quipped a familiar (yet still annoying) voice to Freddie's ears as he lost his previous train-of-thought. The now tall brunette awkwardly straightened his rapidly-growing legs in order to stand and face his old frenemy. A petite blonde stood in the doorway to the A/V club's editing room leaning against the wooden-post in a cocky fashion usually reserved for gang leaders.

"Hey Sam," responded Freddie in a tired fashion. Sam's infamous nicknames for Freddie had become a norm long ago and now produced nothing except a sensation of familiarity between the two. While still possibly the most likely duo of the student body to explode in a fiery argument at the drop of the hat, the two had mellowed out in their high school years.

"Working on your portfolio for college?" Sam flipped the chair next to Freddie backwards and flopped over it in the most ungraceful position possible. She looked over at the screen and saw a video of her and Carly sitting in bathtubs debating the importance of coffee and the stink bomb and a surge of nostalgia consumed her. "Ah, watching clips from the good-old days."

"Close, I'm making a video collage for Carly's 18th birthday," replied Freddie as he clicked on the screen a few times adjusting the brightness of video. Sam blew out a sigh over what had to be the most pathetic one-sided love in all of Seattle. Ten years and Freddie was still pining over the girl-next-door. Preparing to leave before she felt sick, Sam was caught short by an exasperated sigh from Freddie.

"I've wasted my entire life, haven't I?" Freddie looked over at the calendar to see that only a handful of weeks remained for their high school life. Sam took a deep breath and pondered either a insulting-yet-safe response or a supporting-yet-uncomfortable one. She eventually decided on teasing sarcasm.

"I wouldn't say your "entire" life," quipped Sam. She got up and rotated the chair around again and laid back in a slump. She suspected she might be here for a while. Quickly trying to think of something to say, Sam grasped at straws. "You helped with iCarly."

"Which is something I only did for Carly."

"There was that movie you made last year."

"Which I only did for Carly."

"You tried swing dancing lessons," chuckled Sam. She tried to hide her smile seeing Freddie's cringing face but the memory was too funny.

"Which not only I failed at miserably, but I did only for Carly."

"There was that time you hit Pete, and the entire female population of Ridgeway threatened to tar and feather you."

"That was…" Freddie chuckled and glanced over at Sam, who was browsing through Freddie's video collage and bit his tongue. "I forget." Silence passed between the two. Freddie focused on a crack in the ceiling while Sam continued to roll the mouse all around the pad.

"She accepted the invitation to Harvard," Sam said after a minute of reflection and passed the mouse back to Freddie.

"I know. She tells me things too." Freddie scrolled forward through a clip with the mouse-wheel and then scrolled back, not paying any particular attention to the screen anymore.

"You still going to the University of Seattle?" asked Sam picking up one of the club's camcorders from the table next to her and starting playing with it.

"Yeah, going to study film there. You?" Freddie paused for a moment, wondering if he had just asked a question he shouldn't have.

"I… I'm keeping my options open." Sam said quickly. She struggled to change the subject, "You going to ask Carly to the prom?"

"Heh…" Freddie finally closed his editing program, and turned to face Sam, "No, I am going to let her go. I think I'm going to sit this one out. I do have my college portfolio to work on a bit more."

"Why?" asked Sam curiously, "She doesn't have a boyfriend right now, and Carly's most likely to say yes now, especially for this."

"To be honest, I don't think I'd know what to do if she did say yes. Plus, she's leaving to go halfway across the country. I think it's healthier if I just give her up now while I'm still ahead."

Sam put down the camcorder, and looked up at Freddie (an action that still bothered her. She never got used to him being taller than her) "You didn't waste your life pining for her. You wouldn't be Freddie without Carly."

Freddie chuckled before responding, "Forgive me for saying that line seemed way too cheesy to be coming out of your mouth."

Sam sighed and gave up on hiding it. "Guess it's just habit I've picked up lately. I'm going to start writing… short stories probably. I have a few things I'd like to submit as soon as the school year ends." Freddie started chuckling and after glancing at the expression on Sam's face started full-out laughing.

"Hey! I've written plenty of scripts for skits on the show. I can do this!" Freddie put a hand over his chest to try to calm himself down.

"I'm just hoping it isn't romance you're planning on getting into." Sam smacked Freddie aside the head.

Freddie's laughter slowly subsided and looked over at Sam seriously, "You think we can really live without her?"

Sam took upon a philosophical look and laid deeply back into her chair, "To be honest I don't know. I hope so…"

A/N: Hello everyone, I'll be starting slow on this one while debating what to do with my other stories. I should have enough time to manage hopefully two, possible three with regular updates again. I really want to get back to Seddie: Year One.


	2. 1: Sam Would Survive the Apocalypse

**Overtime**

**Chapter 1: Sam Would Survive the Apocalypse  
**

_Two Years Later:_

"Freddie, this is ridiculous. The food on the table probably weighs more than I do," commented Spencer enthusiastically in between chews.

"Well, you helped me a lot with my submission. From the props to letting me using the old iCarly equipment. I couldn't have won that contest without your help," replied Freddie. He had noticed Spencer hadn't taken care of himself nearly as well over the past year since Carly had gone off to college. Growing up without their parents had made them closer than most siblings and he suspected Spencer had needed Carly as much as Carly needed him. Freddie made a mental note to hang out with Spencer more often in the future.

Spencer washed down a mouthful of food with his glass of water in one gulp. "What did you win again?"

"I got a steady job at a special-effects company. They are paying for my tuition and living expenses now, and I even managed to get an apartment within walking distance to work. Bus stop there takes to campus. I think I might go full-time with them as soon as I graduate."

"Haha, Freddie. That's incredible. Man, its great to see you succeed. I always thought you would." said Spencer whole-heartedly at Freddie. Freddie just played with his food. He was too embarrassed to respond to that. He had always liked Spencer's work and it meant a whole lot to him to be complimented by him. In many ways, Spencer had been a big-brother/father to Freddie all through middle-school and high-school.

"Kinda stinks you're celebrating with dinner with another guy though. No girlfriend yet?" asked Spencer with a teasing smile.

"Ha! No." chuckled Freddie, "nope, nothing like that. School's been crazy." Freddie grabbed some more food and tried to nonchalantly ask, "How's Carly?"

"She's like you. Buried with work. Barely finds time to call me." Spencer started eating like crazy again.

_Yup, doesn't find time to call me at all obviously._

"How's Sam? I haven't seen her since you guys graduated," asked Spencer.

"No idea really, I haven't run into her at all lately," replied Freddie.

_Which is weird. I figured she'd call me for a free meal or to borrow money at the very least._

Spencer caught the puzzled look on Freddie. "Think something's up?"

Freddie shook his head. "No, believe me. That girl would survive the apocalypse. I'm sure she's fine."

* * *

"Samantha Puckett, congratulations on another New York Time's Bestseller!"

Sam looked down from the podium into the admiring crowd below, trying to balance the overwhelming amount of bouquets of flowers in one arm and her newest literacy award in the other.

"Thank you, I am so happy that people have accepted my writing," replied Sam nervously. "I had spent my whole youth with people telling me I had no talent and that I would never amount to anything. Being here today and celebrating my happiness with you guys, and being able to take my mother out to dinner seems just surreal." Sam turned to her side and saw Carly smiling with all the pride of a sister and best friend. She turned towards Freddie and he shyly avoided eye contact while subtlely giving his thumbs up. Freddie looked like he was about to say something before was floored by a girl in the most ridiculously-looking hat imaginable. It had flashing neon lights and her shirt featured an enormous heart on it engraved with the words "Vote Sam Puckett for President" on the front.

"Sam! I love you!" screamed Mandy Valdez, iCarly's ex-number-one fan. After forcing her way to the front of the podium, she shoved a framed piece of paper and pen in front of Sam's face. "Can I get your autograph?!"

Sam chuckled, especially at the sight of Freddie seemingly checking if all his joints were still functioning normally. "You already have mine."

"Psh, I have Sam Puckett the cohost of iCarly's autograph. I need Sam Puckett, New York Time's bestselling author's autograph now." said Mandy with over exaggerated hand motions that were scaring the people next to her. Sam's mom walked over and put her hand comfortingly on Sam's shoulder.

"Just humor the girl. She clearly would love the gesture." Sam looked back at her mother, and replied, "Thanks Mom, I love you."

*SPLASH*

Sam felt like she ejected her body from the bed, the icy chill of the water was so shocking. Her mother nonchalantly put down the still-dripping bucket and began to throw clothes at Sam.

"If you loved me, you'd clearly get off your lazy butt and do something productive," quipped Mrs. Puckett. Sam struggled to clear the drowsiness of sleep from her so she could dress. Sam noticed her mom was packing a whole bunch of paper in a box. It was when she threw her laptop on the top and carried the things outside that Sam realized what was going on. She quickly rushed after her to the door, and made a wild lunge at the laptop. She barely had safely reclaimed it before her mom lit the entire box on fire with a match and threw some whiskey on it for good measure.

"What are you doing?!" exclaimed Sam, "That was everything I had written in the last 2 years!"

"Yeah? Well what has this done for you in the last 2 years? Its made you a 20-year-old that does nothing except loiter around the house while sucking money off her mom and her boyfriends. It's time to move on and get a job. Do something productive."

"Like what? Be a bar waitress like you? No thank you. Jeez mom, that was my soul you just burned in there!"

"You are just like your father. Chasing after stupid dreams that just dig you into a hole. Does this make you money? No! Get a real job like the rest of us!"

"I will! I'm still waiting on my last submission."

"Which will be rejected like the others. Here take your stuff." Her mom shoved a box of things into Sam's arms and wheeled a suitcase over to her. Sam saw her stuff neatly packed in the box and realized what was happening.

"Get out. You're old enough to take care of yourself now."

"Mom please."

"I said GET OUT!" And with that Sam was shoved out of the door to her home of 15 years. She didn't even register the slamming of the door and the click that followed. The shock was too great. She felt something wet cross the edges of her mouth but didn't think about it. Sam Puckett never cried, even when its the apocalypse and everything was burning in fire around her, Sam Puckett doesn't cry.

_Well maybe just this once. ...Just once wouldn't hurt._

And with that thought Sam collapsed on the ground and cried for herself... just this once._  
_

**A/N:** Hmmm, I posted that Prologue without reviewing and rereviewing it like I usually do. Still working off the rust I guess. I kinda posted it after the urge to write again became too much, and now going back today and looking at it, it feels really subpar. I'll probably go back and redo it later. Oh well, bear with me, hopefully the writing process comes back to me quickly.

One reader noticed that it would be strange that Freddie would be still growing at the age of 18. I had always imagined that Freddie would be a really late-bloomer in the growing process in my mind and completely forgot he's clearly having his growth spurt on the show right now and ahhhhhh, continuity holes! So um *cough, pretend Freddie remained a shorty till the age of 16. As for the maturing of Sam and Freddie, well I really wanted to fast-forward their friendship to the point where a down-to-earth conversation didn't seem so weird between the two. When I get back to my other stories Sam and Freddie won't seem nearly as OOC hopefully.

**A/N/N:** And yes, apparently Sam dreams of Freddie in extreme pain.


	3. 2: Sam and Familiar Faces

**Overtime**

**Chapter 2: Sam and Familiar Faces**

_Lightwell Studios, Freddie's workplace:_

"Subletting your place?" asked Shane. He handed some old props to Freddie that the two were going to throw away later. Freddie and Shane had been in the A/V club through all of high school, and Freddie considered himself lucky to have started work with someone he knew already. Shane, having finished his undergraduate studies, was already a full-timer at the company.

"Yeah, Summer break is coming up for me in a few days, and I was thinking of taking a vacation." Freddie grabbed some fluorescent light bulbs and smashed them inside a container. Shane pitched in; it was a pretty fun activity.

"Really? But you just got the place," asked Shane curiously. Freddie avoided eye-contact and kept staring down at the work at hand, knowing that there was no way that Shane could know what his vacation plans were, but feeling nervous regardless.

"I know. I just really want to do this." Freddie took off his safety gloves and patted the dust off his pants before returning inside. "You sure you don't need a place?"

"Ha, I don't want to pay for it. Isn't the rent like $900 a month before utilities and living expenses"

"Yah, I haven't really found anyone that will take it for only four months yet."

"Ah, I'm sure something will come up."

_

* * *

_

Spencer's Apartment:

Spencer was positive he locked the door to his apartment before he left, which was why he was so surprised to find it open agape when he got home from grocery shopping. Dropping the bags down in front of the fridge , he opened it to find it far emptier than usual. Spencer sighed as he realized he was going to need to make a second trip to the store.

"Hey Sam! Long time no see!" Spencer hollered up the stairs to the studio above the living room. He heard a yawn, followed by silence and then footsteps as he saw a familiar face walk down the stairs.

"Hey Spencer, mind if I crashed here for a few days," asked Sam.

"I would but I just rented it out to my friend Socko."

Sam looked suddenly disappointed and couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

"Visiting my dad on his submarine over the summer." Spencer gave Sam a curious look. "You look terrible. What's up?"

Sam plopped down on the sofa and turned on the television. "Ah you know, the usual. My mom was getting on my nerves so I decided to bail. And hence I need a place to crash for awhile"

Spencer started pulling some spaghetti from the bags he brought home. "I wish I could help you out, but Socko's going to moving his stuff in starting tomorrow." Spencer grabbed a pot and started to fill it with water. "Do want spaghetti and tacos at least? I haven't had the excuse to cook it in a while."

Sam's grin nearly turned wolfish at the thought of Spencer's famous Spaghetti and Tacos, "You wouldn't mind making double servings would you? So I can take some with me afterward?"

Spencer gave a chuckle, "Yah sure, you have a backup plan for where you're going to stay?"

Sam took a deep breath and exhaled with her bottom lip extended forcing the air to blow over her bangs. Spencer could tell she was weighing a decision in her mind. "Aside from the obvious direct-approach where I just find some cheap apartment and pay for it with my own money? I have no idea." Spencer didn't say anything as Sam closed her eyes in thought. He just smiled and walked back to the kitchen. He never was a fan of making decisions for Sam, Carly and Freddie. He was more than happy to let them make their own mistakes (within reason of course) and he was sure Sam would make the right choice eventually, though he made a mental note to call Mrs. Puckett later. She was probably still in shock if Sam and her had a fight as bad as what Spencer suspected.

"Freddie's afternoon classes end in about 30 min on campus," said Spencer as he started boiling the spaghetti.

Sam raised an eyebrow at that remark. "So?"

"Nothing, I'm just saying." Spencer looked over at the couch to see Sam lying upside-down upon it with her head resting on the seat cushions staring at the ceiling.

"Food's ready by the way." Spencer was amused when Sam-in-deep-thought failed to respond to that.

_

* * *

_

Campus 30 min later:

"Gibby I still don't see why you wanted me to walk you home," asked a confused Jeremy. Gibby looked nervously from side-to-side obviously expecting something or someone he couldn't see.

"Well… heh, some guy has been picking on me on the way home. I figured there would be strength in numbers," replied Gibby nervously.

"Gibby this is ridiculous. We're not teenagers anymore. There is no reason…" Jeremy paused midsentence at the sight of a guy roughly half a head taller than either of them. His physique was wiry and compact, like a lightweight boxer. The way he held himself though, was what caught Jeremy off-guard. This guy could tear him apart.

"Brought a friend I see. That's funny, I was thinking the same thing myself." Now Gibby groaned at the sight of a 2nd guy just as tough-looking as the first and was even a little bigger. Before he could say anything Jeremy was on his knees begging.

"I had nothing to do with this I swear. I'm just passing through." The bullies started laughing, when a shadow passed over Jeremy's head. Both Gibby and Jeremy swiveled their heads around to see who it was, but the person's silhouette was right in front of the sun. Whoever it was carried a backpack over one shoulder, and was casually leaning their weight on one leg, seemingly undisturbed by the scene of two grown men begging in such a pathetic fasion. The smaller of the two guys finally spoke up. "I'm sorry. Can I help you?"

Sam's face glared into focus as she walked away from the blinding sun behind her.

"Yeah. Hold this." Sam flung her backpack at her first target. He instinctively caught it and looked down. Suddenly realizing what had happened, he looked up to see a fist rocketing towards his face. His friend shook his head out of shock after seeing his partner get downed in one punch, and lunged face-first at Sam, hoping to use his superior size and weight to his advantage.

Sam countered by quickly grabbing the trashcan next to her and adjusting it to shield her. Her opponent dived right into the offending barrel. Using the opportunity of confusion, Sam quickly swept the legs of the guy right out from under him, causing him to land rather ungracefully on his rear on the pavement. Sam roundhouse kicked the trashcan hard enough for even Gibby and Jeremy to hear the rattling of the guy's head inside. Sam walked over and grabbed her bag, right as the second guy toppled over onto the pavement.

Jeremy and Gibby looked at Sam, then each other, then at Sam again, then at each other. After a few moments of silence they started to scream and run.

"Hey!" yelled Sam as she grabbed a shoulder with each hand and through raw force alone, shoved Gibby and Jeremy back down into sitting positions. She crouched down so she could talk to eye-level with them.

"I have a lunch credit plan! I don't carry food on me anymore!" squealed Gibby while shielding his face. Sam sighed. Some people never changed. Jeremy looked over and Gibby and quickly imitated him. "What he said!"

"Hey! Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dumb! I'm not going to hurt you. Jeez, I'm just looking for Freddie Benson." Gibby and Jeremy looked at each other simultaneously again in that eerie psychic fashion and then just pointed to the apartment building next door. Sam looked over to see Freddie's telescope clearly set up in one of the balconies.

"Thank you, guys. Clean the trash up after me will you." Sam nodded over to the unconscious bullies and the spilled trashcan in front of Gibby and Jeremy. She then got up, adjusted her backpack again and grabbed the rolling suitcase she had left a few feet back. Sam started making her way over to Freddie's apartment building, before pausing and turning around.

"You guys really go to the University of Seattle?" asked Sam curiously. Gibby opened and closed his mouth a few times before answering.

"Well I just transferred from Community College last semester and Jeremy's been the in film school department since we graduated. Sam twisted her head in thought, blinked a few times and then just shook her head and kept walking. Sometimes it was better to not ask questions with answers you don't want to know.

She walked over to Freddie's door, proceeded to pick the lock, and then dragged her stuff inside. She needed a nap.

**A/N: **Hmm, a few of you commented on the cruelty of Sam's mother in the last chapter. This is probably cuz I penned in only her worst moment, her breaking point (in an effort to speed the story along) I have always viewed Sam's mother as a person who could barely take care of herself let alone her daughter, and probably viewed Sam as a burden to her, a feeling that clearly was noticeable to Sam or she wouldn't have avoided her own home as much as she did. Sam's mother I think would be the type of parent who would be overjoyed at seeing her daughter being able to support herself, and seeing Sam being stuck at home for 24 months with no seeming end to their financial situation, coupled with the fact that she doesn't understand Sam or pointless pursuits like creative writing would drive her mother to the breaking point. By all means, I think Sam's mother loves her, she's just very very inept at taking care of her. I like feedback like this, it really lets an author kno when they have failed at providing enough back information to support a character, since I already kno the story, its easy for me to get lazy and just pen in conversations movie script style.


	4. 3: Please? For Me?

**Overtime**

**Chapter 3: Please? For Me?  
**

_Freddie's Apartment:_

Sam looked around at the place her personal pinata of a friend called home. It was so... clean. From the dishes... to the floor... to the couch cushions, everything was spotless. Freddie seemed to have tidied and organized the place well enough to make even the most OCD of people feel at home. Sam sighed. Freddie clearly still had too much time on his hands. Guy probably still didn't have a girlfriend. Either way though, the place was very nice: Second floor apartment with a balcony overlooking a lake belonging to the property; kitchen with sink, oven and plenty of counter room; washer and dryer in a hallway closet; two bedrooms though Freddie seemed to have converted the smaller of the two into an office of sorts.

Sam walked over to the desk to see pictures of old school friends. She raised an eyebrow at the large one featuring Carly on a fishing trip Spencer had taken the gang on in their sophomore year of high school. (They didn't catch any fish and Freddie managed to fall in a batch of poison ivy ending the trip prematurely) Looking over at the calendar Freddie had put up, Sam saw that his classes for the year had already ended. What caught her eye was that Freddie seemed to be leaving in a few days for vacation. A four month vacation... Sam glanced around the apartment again (to be honest, it was nicer than where she lived) and smiled to herself. She may finally have caught a break. Yawning from a long day of emotional drama, Sam walked over to Freddie's bedroom, flopped herself onto the covers and joined the land of sheep blissfully.

* * *

_Lightwell Studios:_

Freddie packed up his remaining work into his bag as he prepared to head for home. He was about to turn off the lights (He always was the last one to leave since he rarely made afternoon plans) when he noticed one of the new girls carrying a heap of books to her desk. Her hair was sort of a dirty blonde color, and she was tall and rather well built athletically. If Freddie had to guess, she probably used to play basketball or soccer in high school. He tried to get a look at her face from behind the stack of books she was carrying when she pretty much ran smack into him, tripping over his feet when she tried to recover, ultimately ending with her books collapsing all over her as fell. Freddie shook off the shock from his face and starting gathering her materials together as she collected herself.

"I am so sorry." Freddie mumbled without thinking. He picked up the books and started stacking them on the desk next to him. The girl flipped her bangs from her face and Freddie couldn't help but stare. She was ...cute? (No, too childish) ...pretty? (No too grade schoolish and vague) ...elegant? (Sort of, but at the same time vibrant) ...lovely? (That seems right). Yes she looked... lovely, that was it. She got up and brushed off her pants, giggling at her clumsiness.

"No, I clearly couldn't see where I was going." she said. Freddie noted a slight Irish accent in her voice. Freddie grabbed half of her books and helped them over to her desk. "Name is Cassie, but you can call me Klutz"

Freddie couldn't help but laugh at that and held out a hand for her to shake. "Freddie, Freddie Benson. You're one of the new interns right?"

"Yeah, I'm still trying to find where the vending machines are as a matter of fact."

"Third Floor, next to the coffee room." Freddie looked around the place and noticed none of the other female interns were around and remembered. "Um, I couldn't help but notice you're staying pretty late. Didn't the girls leave already for an introduction party or something?"  
Cassie bit her lip awkwardly for a second and looked over at her books as if checking if they were all there.

"Ah, I still have a bunch of work to do." Cassie responded, and Freddie was about to pry a little more before Shane grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him on. "Can I borrow him for a sec?" asked Shane without waiting for an answer. Cassie just nodded and smiled as Freddie was dragged away by Shane.

Taking Freddie over to a corner, Shane looked at Freddie accusingly, "She clearly wasn't invited." Freddie looked at Cassie, then at Shane. "Why?" Shane looked at Freddie patiently, but then gave up when the clueless look remained. "Cassie Lessner? Her dad funds the majority of the projects here. The girls don't take to her, since she got her job from connections." Freddie looked over at Cassie again, and felt like a jerk. She had already started pouring into the books she had borrowed.

"I had no idea. Really." Shane motioned towards the door and the two walked outside outside.

"Yeah, well so far it looks pretty tough for her. Watch what you say." Shane looked over at a slip of paper sticking out of Freddie's bag with airport flight times.

"Are you still going if you can't rent your place out?" asked Shane.

"There's no way. I'm going to see if there are any appointments to see the place as soon as I get home," replied Freddie.

"You hoping to leave soon?"

"Yeah, if everything goes well. Hopefully I won't be seeing you for a few months."

Shane looked over at Freddie pretty curiously. "Ha ha, what are you up to for your vacation anyway?"

Freddie smiled sarcastically before replying, "Secret important stuff." Shane raised an eyebrow, but Freddie didn't expand any further.

* * *

_Freddie's Apartment:_

Freddie walked up to his door and grabbed the knob to find it unlocked. Mentally hitting himself for being so careless he walked inside and dropped his stuff on the couch. Freddie was about to grab a bottle of water out of the fridge when he heard snoring from his bedroom. Putting two and two together, Freddie slowly pushed open his bedroom door to find a bushel of curly blonde hair under the pink quilt his mother made for him. (Yes it was pink and fringed... but it was warm so why waste a good quilt?) Freddie sighed. Sam clearly still didn't respect other people's belongings on any level. Girl probably was still single.

Debating in his head whether it would be wiser to wake her or not, Freddie suddenly had an idea, and rushed quietly to the kitchen cabinets. Finding a can of whip cream, Freddie crept back into his bedroom and slowly and carefully applied a very large layer of whip cream to Sam's hand. Doing his best to keep his giggling to himself, Freddie then used the fringy corner of his quilt to tickle Sam's nose. She scrunched up her nose a few times and the hand with the whip cream started to twitch. Trying his best to hold in the laughter till the proper moment, Freddie tickled a little more...

*SMACK*

...only to find his face slapped full of cream. Sam sleepily opened her eyes, looked up at Freddie's face covered full of whip cream and then down at her hand. After a moment of pause, Sam wiped her hand on Freddie's shirt, then yawned and turned back over to sleep so more. Freddie just stared before making his way over to the bathroom to clean himself up.

* * *

_A quick wash up, couple of silent cursings, and a solemn swear to never buy whip cream again later:_

"Sam, what are you doing here?" asked Freddie after Sam was awake. She was currently rummaging through his fridge for food after settling on some cold pizza he put in yesterday.

"Glad to see you too." answered Sam nonchalantly.

"Well I'm just... This is... nevermind." Freddie gave up and just sat down with a bottle of water. Sam would say what was going on, in time... he thought.

"My mom kicked me out of the house," said Sam expressionless while chewing on her slice of pizza. Freddie just waited patiently. Over the years, being friends with Sam had taught him a lot of patience... and tolerance... mostly to pain.

"Pretty much called me a loser at life and then evicted me so I can make it on my own." Sam put down her pizza and stared at it, then looked up at Freddie. He leaned back on his chair and looked up at the ceiling for a bit before nodding to himself and then grabbing his keys.

"Where are you going?" asked Sam.

"To talk to your mom. Come on, we'll go together. I'll call Spencer. He can meet us on the way." Freddie flipped his phone open before Sam grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"Don't. She was right. All I was doing was loafing around doing nothing. I need to find a place of my own." said Sam seriously before sitting back down. Staring down at the pizza again, Sam started tearing off the corners to chew on before continuing. "You're going on vacation soon?"

Freddie shifted a bit in his seat. He didn't like where this was going. "Yeah, why?"

"So... maybe... I was thinking... maybe... I could crash here. You know... while you're gone. I could start saving money for my own place in the meantime." Sam looked curiously up at Freddie. Freddie tried to ignore the hopeful look in her eyes.

"No."

'Why not?" Sam exasperated, "I'd take good care it. Really. Clean it. Whatever. Just do me a solid, just this once."

Freddie sighed before responding, "Sam the rent is nearly $1000 a month and I still have to pay it while I'm gone." Sam stopped midchew and looked over. She didn't even swallow before asking to confirm.

"Really?"

Freddie nodded. Sam sighed before laying her head down on the counter. "That sucks." Freddie didn't know what to say, if there was anything to say. Maybe they'd have to make that trip to talk to Sam's mom after all.

"Well... guess I have to look for a place after all. Something within my budget." Sam laid immobile on the kitchen counter and Freddie had a sudden urge to pat her head, be smashed the feeling immediately.

"Sam, I have to take care of a few things, but give me an hour or so and we can go look... together." Sam just turned her head to look over at Freddie.

"Really?" Freddie just squirmed uncomfortably. He wasn't used to Sam asking for favors and well... he wasn't used to granting them either. Guess it was nostalgia for the happy days that was driving him at the moment. Seeing Sam reminded him of well... iCarly and all the fun and happiness that came with it. Being in college and suddenly embarking into his 20s, Freddie has found that life is well... tiring. Right now though, Freddie sincerely wanted to help.

"Yeah, just let me get my laptop and we'll look as some places." Freddie ran into his office while Sam inhaled the rest of the pizza.

* * *

_Prospective Apartment #5:_

Sam was exhausted... and what really bothered her was that Freddie was still going full-stride as if this was the first place they looked at. Maybe it was because unlike her, he didn't feel closer and closer to despair with each place they had to turn down. The sky was getting dark and this was the last place before Sam was going to call it. It didn't matter how many places they looked at, Sam either couldn't afford it or the place was nigh unlivable. This was the last one that Sam could find and it didn't help that the guy showing them the place looked as filthy as a porta-potty. As Freddie and Sam started walking down the stairs to the apartment, Freddie couldn't help but look nervous.

"Hey sir, how far down does this go? I mean... this isn't an underground tunnel is it?" asked Freddie.

"Freddie, you can't possibly still be afraid of the dark right? I mean you are way too old to be sleeping with a night light still." teased Sam. Freddie shut up immediately and kept walking. When they reached the bottom, the place was pitch black. Freddie started shivering. Sam did her best to not burst out laughing, ah some things about Freddie never changed.

"Sir, you're turning on the lights right?" The landlord looked at them. (or did he? hard to tell in the dark)

"Electricity must have died again," he replied. Freddie and Sam groaned simultaneously. Feeling down at finding another unsuitable place, Sam grabbed a stick and starting poking Freddie's ankle.

"Sam stop that." Freddie said reflexively. Sam snickered and called from the other side of the room.

"Freddie I'm no where near you." A moment's pause followed and then Sam swore she could hear Freddie's teeth start to chatter. She physically put her hand over her mouth to stop giggling.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!" screamed Freddie up the stairs while Sam finally just busted a gut laughing while trying to follow. Ah, she missed this, she really did.

* * *

_Freddie's Apartment... again:_

Freddie collapsed on his couch. Sam had left to do some errands and was coming back soon apparently. Freddie wanted to just sleep, but forced himself to check his mail. Still no interested parties for his place. He sighed... looks like he was staying in Seattle after all. The door suddenly opened again (Freddie had locked it and kinda felt silly at the moment for doing so) and Sam popped in the door with a suspicious looking envelope and bagful of stuff. Freddie started to get up, but Sam threw the bag of things right into his gut causing him to topple back onto the couch.

"You've always wanted to go to Hawaii right?" asked Sam.

"Yeah" said Freddie slowly trying to figure out what was going on.

"Well, excellent, because I looked up a great tour group for the place. You'll see all the spots you want and still have afternoons for the beach, surfing, barbeques... girls," Sam stated while raising her eyebrows (Freddie had always admired Sam for being able to do that. It was a skill that he never really saw many girls capable of) Sam pointed out a brochure she bought and opened it for Freddie, took out a wreath of tropical flowers to hang around his neck, and started taping up pictures to wall of the places to sight-see.

"Looks amazing right?" asked Sam. Freddie still nodded his head slowly trying to catch on.

"Well... this will be able to cover the whole trip," said Sam triumphantly, passing Freddie the envelope. Freddie opened it to find a stack of cash inside.

"What... ?" Freddie began.

"My entire savings," said Sam matter-of-factly, "You know, the one Carly forced me to make for absolute emergencies. Well this is my emergency." Sam grabbed Freddie's head and forced him to look at her. "Come on Freddie. Help me out just this once. Just this once and never again I swear."

Freddie grabbed Sam's hands and forced them down. He then quickly flipped through the bills. "Sam... " Freddie groaned, "This isn't even $2000 dollars." Sam looked over at Freddie in a weird... (was that a pleading look?) fashion.

"Freddi-o..."

Freddie just crossed his arms. "Yes?"

Sam didn't change expressions, "Freddie..."

Freddie refused to budge. "Yes?" Sam suddenly lunged and grabbed one of Freddie's legs. Freddie was caught completely offguard. After shaking off the shock, Freddie tried to detach Sam from his leg.

"So what if I'm short a little. Our friendship can cover it right? Come on Freddie... for old times sake?" Freddie tried to pry Sam's arms off his leg but the girl was strong enough to strangle a cow.

"Sam... this is bizarre. Stop this." Freddie used both hands and all his strength to pry one arm off of him, and tried to pry off the second only to have the first one reattach. He groaned and just put his hands on his hips.

"Okay Sam, we've been friends for what? 12 years?" Sam looked up and nodded. She tried to looked pitiful, but the expression was so foreign to Freddie he didn't budge at all.

"Now, I am pretty sure that over the all the years we've been friends, we've established 3 simple rules in order to keep the friendship intact. Remember?" Finally managing to wrestle both of Sam's arms off of him he pushed her, but ended up falling down himself. He sat up and looked at Sam eye-to-eye.

"Rule 1 was no dating." Sam just snorted and Freddie gave her a look. Sam tried to meet Freddie's stern look, then started to eye the lovely floor design she was sitting on.

"Rule 2 was..." Freddie continued, but Sam finished for him "also no dating I recall". Freddie just laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, but most importantly Rule 3 was no borrowing money." Freddie pointed his finger at Sam to emphasize the statement.

"Come on Freddie..." pleaded Sam, "Just this once..." Freddie tried his best to maintain a stern face.

"No."

"Please..." Freddie couldn't help but tried to recall the last time Sam ever said please.

"Nope"

"For me?" finished Sam. Freddie squared both shoulders and prepared his response.

"No matter what you say or do I will never budge on this," declared Freddie.

* * *

_Seattle-Tacoma International Airport_

"Have a fun trip!" called out Sam to Freddie as she passed him his last case of onboard luggage. Freddie groaned. He had no idea how Sam had talked him into this. It was like a skill she was born with, persuading Freddies to get what she wants.

"You better not so much as scratch anything in that apartment," warned Freddie as he prepared to board.

"Please, by the time you get back, you'll never know you'd left," assured Sam. Freddie reluctantly grabbed his bags and made his way to the escalators that would take him to the gates to all the flights on the upper floor.

"Bring me back a bag of coconuts!" hollered Sam. Freddie just groaned and stepped onto the moving stairs. Sam waved and then immediately turned around to head back. Freddie stared after her, worrying what he'd find when he returned. He then moved to his gate and boarded. After attending to his luggage he sat down in his window seat, staring outside. He was finally doing it, he was going to go see her. A friendly looking female tourist sat down next to Freddie.

"So, where are you headed?" asked the girl.

"Cambridge." said Freddie matter-of-factly, "I am visiting an old friend."

**A/N: Ugh, another slow-starting story and I think you can tell I'm trying to rush the plot a little as well. I've never been good at beginnings. Also I reread my first few chapters and reevaluating the way I've written them. I have been recently just writing on the fly whenever I found the time, resulting in really short chapters with poor grammar (well I always have poor grammar, but worse than usual) So yeah, going to try to avoid that in the future.**

**A/N/N: Final week in Texas then I move back to Ann Arbor. After I get there I'll probably slow down on updates for this story and start adding chapters to my other unfinished ones like Seddie: Year One. I still remember the overall plots. Should be fast starting those stories again.  
**


	5. 4: Love is Timing

**Overtime**

**A/N: **Heh, I feel kind of bad for Freddie's response of Cambridge in the last chapter since I meant Cambridge, Massachusetts, home of Harvard University and MIT and named after the famous university town in England, but definitely meant Cambridge the tiny university town of 10,000 people in Massachusetts. Sorry to those hoping for a cultural Freddie goes to England chapter. In hindsight, I actually like the idea of Carly studying in the University of Cambridge or Oxford. It just seems her. If I had maybe throw in a line about the plane flying to Boston International Airport, probably a lot of confusion could have been avoided. Oh well, failzor author.

**Chapter 4: Love is Timing**

_Harvard University Campus in center of Cambridge, Massachusetts:_

Freddie nervously adjusted his cap and checked his reflection in a window on one of the nearby buildings. He hadn't seen Carly for two years and well... nervous didn't even begin to describe his emotions. He hadn't tried particularly hard to maintain contact with her (and to be fair, looked like she hadn't either) because well, he was having a blast learning the outs and ins of the movie special effects business in Seattle and Carly was having a blast mingling with the promising young minds of tomorrow. They had gone their separate ways, and Freddie had declared two years ago that he wouldn't live a life built around Carly's and as such, didn't dare tempt himself with even a phone call. It would only cause him pain.

_Yet here I am... two years later. Suck it up Freddie. This isn't the time or place to second-guess yourself.  
_

Freddie adjusted his glasses. (Frequent late-night studying in college had caused him to switch back from contacts to the comforts of rims and after awhile, he found he actually preferred the new look for his new college life) He then squared his shoulders and walked into the traffic of students walking from class-to-class. After feeling stupid for coming here with no plan whatsoever, he tapped the shoulders of a random guy sorting the books in his bag.

"Excuse me, do you know where I can find Carly Shay?" asked Freddie nervously. The guy was about Freddie's age, but he seemed like he carried himself differently. He held himself as if he knew who he was and who he was going to become, and Freddie felt suddenly... inadequate to be here.

"Sure, her Econ final exam should have just ended. You'll probably find her in the courtyard up ahead and to the left of you." replied the guy matter-of-factly. He looked at Freddie's face once, and then did a double-take.

"You're Freddie Benson. From iCarly right?" Freddie smiled nervously and slowly nodded. The guy suddenly burst out in open-friendliness.

"Man I loved that show! It's a crying shame you guys stopped." Freddie shrugged and felt a tinge of pride swell inside of him.

"Yeah... well it would have been difficult to keep going now that the cohosts live in different cities."

"Well, this is amazing. You were great. Let me guess. You go to MIT?" the student nodded his head towards the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Freddie's original dream school that was only shouting distance from Harvard University itself.

"Heh... no, I like the University of Seattle just fine," replied Freddie while playing with a rock on the ground with the tip of shoe.

"They didn't let you in? Man that's insane. You've got talent." They guy patted Freddie's shoulder and Freddie just stayed silent. The truth was that Freddie did get accepted into MIT, and that he had simply turned them down. At the time he reasoned it was too expensive, too far from home and particularly his mother. That he could learn all he wanted from the University of Seattle, but the truth was... it was simply because Carly was going to be here as well, and he didn't know if he could have survived that. He wanted a new life, where he made decisions for himself, not for Carly.

_And yet here I am, like a lovesick puppy. I am really having second thoughts about this._

"I've got to go. Carly is just up ahead and to the left right?" Freddie started moving quickly, taking the initiative now before he lost the guts later.

"Wait! You've gotta let me have your autograph." The guy managed to produce a notepad and a pen out of his bag, and Freddie smiled hesitantly before taking them and quickly jotting down his signature.

* * *

_Carly and some random Harvard dude (that happened to be hot, rich, and in possession of a wicked sense of humor but ultimately a random Harvard dude):_

"So... the answer is still no?" asked Mr. Random Harvard Dude trying and failing to hide his disappointment.

"Sorry... I'm just not looking right now." responded Carly shyly, "We can still work together on the class project right?"

"Yeah... but I fear life will never be the same for me from now on." said Mr. Random Harvard Dude with a flair of fake despair in his expression. Carly playfully smacked his shoulder and started laughing. He paused for a moment before continuing with the conversation.

"Seriously though. It's no secret you haven't gotten involved with anyone since you got here. What's up? Waiting for guy back home?"

Carly kind of swayed a little from side-to-side while trying to hide the embarrassment on her face before answering, "Yeah, you could say that."

"Summer break's coming up for us soon. You going back to visit him?" Carly sat down on the soft grass in Harvard Yard, one of her personal favorite areas to study in. The place was a lush patch of green in the middle of the city and the student activity always motivated her no matter the time of day. Looking up at the sky, she giggled before answering.

"No. Not yet. I have a bunch of core classes to take over the summer." Random Harvard Dude raised an eyebrow in suspicion, and Carly just sighed.

"I'm... a little nervous. It's someone I've known for a long time. I really wouldn't know what to do if I did go back. I'm thinking that maybe... I don't know. I have to think about it some more."

Mr. Random Harvard Dude sighed again with disappointment. He had a feeling that his future years were going to revolve with one-sided, unrequited pain around this girl.

* * *

_A random bush in Harvard Yard where the protagonist is currently taking cover behind:_

Freddie looked over at Carly suspiciously and wondered if the world really did revolve around her or was it just in his eyes. Everything seemed to move according to her. The conversations and greetings just seemed to add an aura of magnetism to her. She really fit in well with these people. Freddie sighed at his silly predicament. He didn't come across the whole country just to hide behind shrubbery. He was about to make his move when he noticed a particularily attractive guy laughing with Carly. Freddie looked closer to see Carly playfully hitting his shoulder. The guy was looking at Carly with a look that Freddie was all too familiar with. He suddenly felt heavy. Well maybe not even as much heavy as the feeling of every organ at his body suddenly converging at his heart and trying to squeeze it out of existence as trying to get rid of a fatal weakness.

_I'm just being stupid aren't I?_

Freddie looked onward some more to see some people excitedly running over to Carly and chatting with her. The more Freddie looked, the more inadequate he felt and he forced himself to his feet. Looking over at Carly one more time, he ripped his eyes away from her and started taking one-step-at-a-time away from the campus. He had been wasting his time... on Carly... again... and he had never felt so stupid. It was time to go home.

* * *

_Carly and Mr. Random Harvard Dude:_

Mr. Random Harvard Dude looked to see a friend of his excitedly running over with a notepad and pencil and wondered what all the fuss was about.

"Dude! You'll never believe this!" Carly and Random Harvard Dude looked over in anticipation, and the guy showed on his notepad what looked like an autograph.

"I just got Freddie Benson's autograph!" at this everyone within listening distance suddenly turned in their direction and closed in to get a look. Carly stood up in shock and scanned the area, but couldn't see a thing with the crowd of people gathered around. She tried to force her way out, but it was slow and she was never very good at cutting through crowds of people. She used to just follow in wake of bodies Sam created when she bulldozed through crowds. By the time she had a clear view of the whole park, Freddie Benson was nowhere to be seen.

**A/N: Short chappy. I'm feeling tired and felt like posting this now rather than wait till tomorrow when I have more energy. I recall once at a party when someone asked what Love was and you could only answer with one word. You got answers ranging from the cheesy "Life", "Giving", etc to the cynical ones like "Greed", "Obsession." The answer I liked best was simply "Timing." In idealistic stories, the main characters are "destined" for each other and no other person could have replaced either one of them, but realistically, relationships of all sorts come from chance opportunities. You could be married happily to a guy of your dreams, but had one thing occured differently in your past, would you still be? Perhaps you would have met another guy that you would been married just as happily with. Anyway food for thought. **

**A/N/N: I don't plan to write any Creddie in the near future. Though admitted I do like what the show has done recently with the character of Carly in the 2nd season. In the first season she was the flawless conscious of the trio, always doing what's right and patching up things that need to be patched. All the drama and problems came from outside forces or from Freddie and Sam. The character has definitely gotten more depth in the 2nd season and the frequency of Carly to just be willing to joke and laugh with herself is definitely refreshing. Ultimately though, Sam is way way waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more fun to write. :P**

* * *


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